Sunflower State News

There were 19 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Kansas during the week ending June 24, no changes from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 24, there were 494 deaths in the state. 19.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.8% were from cancer and less than 2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.5% of deaths were from Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

Studies show doctors and medical examiners may underreport Alzheimer's disease and dementia-related conditions as the underlying cause of death on death certificates, according to the National Institute on Aging.

Once infected, older adults with dementia are likely to develop a more severe and dangerous illness. The diseases which make an older adult more vulnerable to COVID-19 are age-associated chronic conditions, according to the Bright Focus Foundation.

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 24	Deaths in Week Ending June 17
Heart disease	97	101
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	88	105
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	25	19
Cerebrovascular diseases	22	27
Diabetes mellitus	19	19
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	15	< 10
Alzheimer's disease	10	20
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 24	Deaths in Week Ending June 17
Alzheimer disease and dementia	52	62